


A Day in the Life of AR-27

by scherryzade



Series: Newcomers [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Ancient Outposts, Gen, Post-Canon, Unscheduled Offworld Activation, Wraith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-24
Updated: 2010-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-10 19:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/103110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scherryzade/pseuds/scherryzade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AR-27 are starting to find their feet in the Pegasus galaxy, which can only mean trouble...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to my LJ account in [October-November 2009](http://scherryzade.livejournal.com/8654.html)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn comes too early, sleep too late.

Anna wakes with a start, her heart racing. Light is filtering into her tent.

Her watch should have started hours ago.

She grabs her sidearm, scrambles out of her tent, cursing inwardly. At the edge of the camp, she can see Collins standing guard. As she stands up, he hears her, turns and raises a hand in greeting.

"What the hell, Collins?" she hisses as she approaches.

He frowns, and glances at his watch. "It's early yet, Captain. You had another half-hour."

She looks at her own watch. 0800 hours by Atlantis time, making it little more than three hours past midnight here. She sighs. She's never going to get used to the long days and slow dawns of the summers on Pegasus' gated planets.

Collins smirks.

"Dammit," she says. "Well, go on, you might as well go and sleep now I'm here."

Collins shrugs. "Not much chance of sleeping now. Sun'll be up soon." His tone is casual, but she can see tension in the line of his shoulder. Anna suddenly wonders if he really would have woken her for her watch.

"Sit down, then."

He hesitates, then sits, throwing her a ghost of a smile. "Mind if I smoke?"

"Go ahead." She doesn't think he needs the lecture.

He digs out a pouch and papers, and starts to roll a cigarette with practised ease, his hands moving in quick, deft movements, like the actions of handling a weapon writ small. She remembers herself, and turns her attention to their perimeter.

"There's bugger all out there."

She looks back to see him smiling up at her, the completed cigarette lit and cupped carefully in one hand. She sniffs. "What _are_ you smoking?"

He chuckles. "It's an Athosian leaf." She raises an eyebrow. "Don't worry, it's not narcotic. I think it's the same thing they use in their tea."

She's tasted the tea. It's vile. She can't imagine smoking it. "You mean all that time Nate was complaining about losing his emergency Earl Grey, you had that stuff with you?"

Collins grins wickedly. "It's every man for himself, out here."

"Think of the team, Collins."

"It wouldn't have helped. I don't think it's got any caffeine in it."

"I thought it was all about the ritual."

"He's a scientist. They run on caffiene. I'm pretty sure he only drinks tea to piss off McKay."

Anna laughes, breaking off guiltily, hoping the sound didn't disturb Nate and Tom. "I'm gonna -" she gestures around the camp, and Collins nods.

Walking their perimeter, she realises he's right. There really is bugger all out here. Looking up, she can see the sky turning blue, clear after yesterday's endless downpour. As she nears her starting point, she reaches a gap in the trees, and can see the first sliver of the sun rising.

"Hey, Collins," she calls, softly.

He doesn't reply, and Anna hurries the few yards until she can see him.

He's still sitting, one arm slung out in front of him holding the cigarette, but his head has dropped. Anna steps up to him softly, and reaches down to pinch out the cigarette, careful not to wake him.

She leaves him to sleep, and goes to watch the sun rise.


	2. Midday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mission, another half-functioning Ancient outpost, another day in the life

For once, the abandoned Ancient facility is exactly where the database told them it would be, high on a ragged mountain fifteen miles from the gate.

Tom, on point, stops abruptly, and it's a moment before he can find his voice. "We're here."

Dr Gibson scrambles up behind him. "Gosh."

"Gosh? Did you just say 'gosh'?" Mark calls up to them.

"Shut up, Mark," says Dr Gibson, flushing, as he taps furiously at his scanner.

"It must be pretty impressive if it makes you say - bloody hell."

"Exactly."

It's not large - it doesn't even reach the treetops, which explains why they didn't see it from further away - but it's blue and green and gold like Atlantis, and shines where the light catches it, filtering through the trees. It draws him in.

"Hold on, Wright. Let's see what we're getting into, first." Captain Rodriguez pulls herself up last. "Doc, what do you see?"

"Give me a sec."

"You're sure this is a lab? It looks more like some rich Ancient's summer home." Mark kicks at a column by the entrance, stopping when the Captain glares at him.

"This is just the lobby," says Dr Gibson "See how it goes into the hillside back there? The bulk of the facility will be underground."

"Oh, so it's a bunker. Great."

"No lifesigns, and I'm not reading a lot of power here, but that might be - Tom, can you -"

Tom looks to the captain, and she nods. "Go ahead, Wright."

He steps through the entrance, and nothing happens. There's a door about three yards in, and panels along the walls. He steels himself. There's an itch at the nape of his neck, one he's starting to associate with Ancient tech, and he lets it push him towards one of the panels.

He places his hand on the panel, and feels the surge of power as the entrance hall lights up, warm and welcoming.

It never fails to creep him out.

"That's never gonna get old, eh, Tommy?" Mark grins at him, and he smiles back weakly.

"Can you open the door?" Captain Rodriguez taps at it.

"It's locked." She doesn't ask how he knows that without even touching it.

"Doc."

"Yes, yes, I'm on it." Dr Gibson beams as he passes Tom. "Thanks, Tom."

The air inside the facility is stale, but he can hear the whir of ventilation kicking in. Captain Rodriguez goes in first, sweeping the room coolly. On her gestured command, Tom goes to the entrance of the first corridor, the sequence for checking their surroundings automatic. "Clear." Mark goes to the second corridor.

"Clear."

"Okay. Doc, tell us where we are."

Dr Gibson hurries to a console just inside the door, and starts pulling up schematics.

"Collins, you stay here."

"Yessir." Mark turns smartly, and goes to the entrance, stopping just in the shadow of the columns.

"The structure's pretty simple," says Dr Gibson. "One level, about a dozen rooms all centred on the main lab. There are three entrances, including this one. The corridor on the left goes around the facility." He points to the second corridor. "This one should take us straight to the centre."

~

The facility buzzes happily as he passes. Dr Gibson, in turn, hums happily as the Ancient consoles light up and seem more than willing to give up their secrets.

"Well, good news is, the encryption is minimal," he says "Bad news is, that means this wasn't exactly high priority research for the Ancients -"

"No weapons?" Weapons or ZPMs, that's their priority.

Dr Gibson sighs. "No weapons, no. Just, you know, incredibly advanced science."

"Cool," says Tom, because he's not Mark, who likes to wind Dr Gibson up about any scientific research that can't be used to kill Wraith, and he doesn't begrudge Dr Gibson's enthusiasm.

"Besides, this isn't esoteric theory, it's practical. David'll love this," Dr Gibson calls over to Captain Rodriguez. "Genetic modification of domesticated crops."

"The Major'll kill you if you make them hike all this way to look at Ancient bio-engineered vegetables. And I don't think the mess will appreciate it much, either."

"Not for eating. Bio-fuels."

"Really? Huh, thought they were all about the zero-point energy."

"Well, there's no ZedPM here. The power's from something similar to the jumper's engine, but I think it's the back-up generator. I think - judging by what I can see here - they were practising what they preached. When the Ancients were here, they were running the place on the biofuel they were developing - refining, I should say."

"Were they using the trees?" asks Tom. It might explain their obsession with conifers.

"Hm? Oh, no," Dr Gibson smiles. "The forest probably didn't reach this far when they were working here. The crops didn't survive the ten thousand years. At least, I didn't notice anything. The botanists will be better at identifying anything that's still here."

"It's going to be a horrible, painful death, Doc," mutters the captain.

Dr Gibson chuckles. "I'll download what I can from their records, take it back for the botanists."

"Okay. You still need Wright?"

"No, no, anything that can go on is on."

"Good. We're gonna go walkabout, see what else is around." Captain Rodriguez cocks her head towards the far door, and Tom readies his weapon.

"Keep an eye out for storage," Dr Gibson calls after them. "There might be some surviving samples."

"Horrible, painful and slow, Doc," calls back Rodriguez as they turn the first corner.

~

Tom feels the warning a moment before he hears it, an alarm sounding just as the radio crackles with Mark's hissed "_Wraith._"

Captain Rodriguez curses. "How many?"

"_Dozen. Heard one dart, maybe more._"

"They in the facility?"

"_Not yet, but they're working on the door._"

"Okay. Fall back to the first turn of the left corridor. Hold it while you can, then go to the second exit. I'm sending Wright to you."

"_Copy that._"

She turns to Tom. "Get to Collins, then fall back. Don't stay longer than you need to. I'm gonna get Dr Gibson."

"Yessir."

Tom's already running.


	3. Afternoon Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't really where Nate thought he'd be ten years after completing his PhD

"Get down! Dammit! Get your head down, Gibson!" Captain Rodriguez doesn't bother waiting for Nate to move, just pushes his head down to the floor, before opening fire on the Wraith. Deafened by the sudden gunfire, Nate's already forgotten his weapons training. He's about to protest that he needs to reach the crystals in the panel above them when a stray shot turns it to flames.

He stares up stupidly at the burning crystals.

"Gibson." Dimly, he's aware that Tom and Mark have reached them. Rodriguez reaches down, shaking Nate by the neck of his tac vest. "Gibson! We need to get out of here!" Another blast, and Rodriguez drops him, weapon sweeping up to fire on their attackers.

Another blast, and Tom falls beside him with a grunt. "Collins, get him," snaps Rodriguez.

Mark drags Tom behind them, still firing on the Wraith.

Nate closes his eyes. There's always a way out, he thinks. Everything has a failsafe. Even the Ancients weren't dumb enough to -

"Any time now, Doc." hisses Mark.

Nate opens his eyes. "I need to get back there."

"What?" The control panel is barely 20 feet away, but it's directly in the Wraith's line of sight. Rodriguez flicks a glance towards it. "Jesu, Nate -"

"Cover me?" Nate asks, and Mark laughs.

"Might as well, Captain."

Rodriguez nods sharply. "Go with him."

Mark pulls Tom up into a sitting position, and claps his gun back into his hands. "No slacking, Wheel."

"Sure," wheezes Tom.

As Rodriguez and Tom fire on the Wraith, Nate and Mark make a run for the control panel. As he shifts the crystals, Nate tries not to think about the ways he could die in the next twenty minutes. Mark swears at the Wraith as he fires on them.

That should work, thinks Nate. That should work. Why isn't it working?

"Gibson! Collins!" Rodriguez calls across to them. "That's good enough, dammit." Nate looks back to see Tom holding the door open with his weapon. Nate and Mark run to the door, scrambling over Tom into the blessedly empty corridor beyond. Mark grabs the door just as Tom slumps, and Nate pulls the injured marine out of the doorway.

As Rodriguez steps back through the doorway, Mark finally lets the door slam shut.

Behind the door, the Wraith keep firing.

"Fuck," says Mark. "Should've left 'em a few of these." He's holding a grenade, and his fingers tighten on it as something slams into the door.

"Oh!" says Nate. "No, it's okay. But we should get out of here pretty quickly."

Rodriguez and Mark are already picking up Tom, and Rodriguez shoots Nate a quisitive glance.

Nate starts to grin. "Fire in the hole?"

"There's a self-destruct," states Rodriguez. Nate nods.

"Oh, ya beauty." Mark slaps Tom on the shoulder in delight, making him groan.

"Yes, but we really should run."


	4. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mission, another Unscheduled Off-world Activation, another day in the life.

Hey, Mark thinks darkly, apparently we're back to watching AR-27 with suspicion.

He counts out the seconds before the captain steps backwards through the gate, and watches the gate room guards relax visibly as she does so. It's the same movement as when they were leaving the Ancient facility, and now he's noticed, he realises that she's always the last through the gate to Atlantis. Always the first when they're heading out.

He's already itching to break her of that habit.

Nate, on his left, watches the medics swarm around Tom. His eyes are wide, and he isn't shaking yet, but he will be.

Tom suffers the ministrations of the medical team in silence. Mark wants to tell them to give it up, because the kid took two Wraith stunner blasts and, okay, he can't walk straight but he's upright.

Instead, Mark pulls Rizk away from Tom, points her at Nate. "Shrapnel."

Nate stares at the nurse tugging gently at his arm, perplexed. "What?"

"You're bleeding."

"I am? Oh." Nate peers at his arm, then looks up at Mark and grins. "That's some self-destruct."

"Yeah."

"Dr Gibson," chides Rizk. "Hold still."

"We blew up the Wraith."

Rizk rolls her eyes. "And doesn't that always end well. Infirmary, now. I need to clean this, and you'll need stitches."

"Huh. My first scar." Nate's grin starts to waver, and Mark claps a hand on his uninjured arm.

"Congratulations, Doc."

Nate ducks his head, embarrassed, but he walks off to the infirmary steadily.

The captain's talking to Sheppard, but she's got one eye on Tom and Nate as they leave.

"I guess I should have let you take that jumper," says Sheppard, smirking. It always looks like Sheppard's taking the piss, but it's not as if he has to be there. It's the middle of the night, and it's clear Sheppard's pulled himself out of bed to check on their abrupt return. Mark doesn't think that's suspicion.

Rodriguez shakes her head. "Nowhere to park, sir."

"Still..."

"It wasn't a problem, sir, we made do."

"I'm shocked, Captain. You're Air Force. When did we ever 'make do'?"

She smiles. "Welcome to Pegasus, sir."

Sheppard grins back. "Go to the infirmary, Radio. I think I've said this before: Get some rest -"

"Debrief in the morning, yessir. Thank you."

As she passes Mark, Captain Rodriguez stops. "You okay?"

"Yessir. The blast missed me."

"I was thinking more the ten miles to the gate with Tom leaning on you."

"It wasn't ten miles."

"No, you're right, more like fifteen."

"I'm okay."

"I'm sure you are. You're still going to the infirmary."

"I'll be right behind you, Captain." He doesn't mean that to sound as pointed as it does, and Rodriguez raises an eyebrow, but she goes to the transporter without looking back.

He has something to do before he goes to the infirmary.

~

"No."

"C'mon, I've just come back from mortal peril."

"No."

"Wraith and everything."

"No."

He scowls at the scary wee mess cook behind the just-cleared counter, then sighs, and plays his trump card. "It's for Tommy."

"Well, why didn't you say so, hon? I'll get something together for him. Just you wait here."

Great. He doesn't even have to tell her Tom's injured. The kid doesn't know he's born.

The cook comes back with a tray piled high. "You're a wee star, Shawna, so you are."

"That better reach young Tom, or I'll know."

He grins at her, and snags a little blue biscuit from the tray. Her eyebrows go up, but she passes him the tray. "Infirmary?"

"Wraith stunner. He'll be fine."

"You look after that boy, d'ya hear?"

He raises the tray in acknowledgment. "With your help."

Shawna huffs, and waves him away, trying not to look pleased.

He pauses by the coffee machine. The food may stop, but there's always coffee, and hot water for tea. Atlantis has its priorities. He considers going back to ask for a glass of warm milk for Tom, but settles for pouring him coffee, white with two sugars. Black for the captain, one sugar to take the edge off, because at this time of night, there may be coffee, but it's a little stagnant.

Tea for Nate, strong, with plenty of milk and about a handful of sugar, even though Nate will swear it's sacrilegious. After a moment's thought, he pours the same for himself.

He grabs a mouthful of bad coffee, too, to stop himself falling asleep on the way to the infirmary.

~

He wakes with a start that sends his cup flying, spilling the dregs across the infirmary floor. Rizk mutters something darkly under her breath and calls for an orderly to clean the floor.

"Sorry," he says, and she shrugs at him.

"Tea is nothing," she says.

Tom's sprawled across an infirmary bed, sleeping off the last effects of the Wraith stunner. Nate's in the bed next to him, having fallen asleep over his tea as Rizk stitched his wound.

The captain -

"You should go, get some real sleep."

\- hasn't gone. Or went, and came back, because he thought he saw her leave last night. This morning.

"I -"

"They're fine, Collins. Go."

"You're still here. Captain."

"I left, and then I came back, because someone told me you wouldn't leave."

Mark shoots a glare at Rizk, who stares coolly back.

"Go, sleep in a proper bed. Or do you only sleep sitting up?" The captain's tone is suddenly sharp.

When he doesn't reply, she sighs.

"They're fine, Mark. We're all okay."

"I know."

"We're safe."

"I know."

"And I'm tired, and I'm not leaving 'til you do, so get the hell out of here."

"Yessir. Ma'am." He looks up in time to see her crack into a blazing smile. "Um."

"You really are tired, aren't you?" She's laughing at him, but she reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. "Seriously, Collins, I'm too tired to even kick your ass for disobeying. I'd have to get someone else to do it."

He gives her a half-smile.

"I hear Dex is a light sleeper," adds the captain, arching an eyebrow.

He raises his hands in defeat, and stands. "I'm goin', I'm goin'."

She nods, and pushes him a little towards the door. He ignores the smug expression on Rizk's face as he passes her.

His boots feel lead-heavy as they take the transporter back to their quarters, the captain now silent at his side. She stops at his door and sends him in with a nod and a terse, soft "Sleep," and he's down and asleep before he can remember that her quarters aren't anywhere near his.


End file.
